Guardian of Humanity
by Thuktun Flishithy
Summary: The battle against the Shadow of Evil had finally been won, and Gamera slipped into the sea, fully expecting death. It did not expect to find itself in a world where humanity was threatened by a threat they feared they could not defeat. It was time to do what it was made to do: protect the Earth. And this time, it would not be alone.
1. Chapter 1

_Kyoto, Japan; 1999_

The battle was over.

Kyoto lay in ruins, reduced to a fiery inferno that had only begun to be quelled by the violent rainstorm that had endured during the battle. The streets were choked with the dead and dying, their weak cries for help ringing uselessly throughout the broken city. Their bodies were minute in size, however, to the hordes of massive corpses that lay in the city-turned-battlefield. They were like macabre snowflakes, each one was unique in how they perished. Some had been sliced open and dismembered by some massive blade, while others had simply been pulverized into the ground by titanic fists. More had been roasted by a fearsome flame that singed and scorched their unholy flesh, and the rest had been shredded and disintegrated by shrapnel and mighty weapons of war. It was a disquieting memorial to the single most important battle fought on Earth.

The battle was over, and the world was victorious.

A lone figure slowly stalked through the ruins, taking care to avoid those unfortunate souls who managed to survive the battle. It was a humongous figure, taller than many of the buildings that lay shattered. Each ponderous step kicked ash and rubble into the air, leaving massive craters in the broken tarmac of the streets. Trailing behind it was its own blood, a brilliant emerald that stood in contrast to the grey and brown of the battlefield before the rains washed it away. It was obvious that the figure was dying. Bereft of one arm and covered head to toe in gashes, cuts, and scratches, it was a wonder that it was still alive, let alone standing.

Despite its horrible wounds and tremendous pain, it was happy. The Shadow of Evil was finally vanquished for good, it would no longer violate the world with its malevolent and all-consuming presence. The city had been lost in the horrific battle, but the world would finally know peace, having truly fought arm in arm in order to save itself. Mankind would rebuild and move on into a golden age, having been humbled by the tremendous forces that had been at play for so many years.

The figure was at the edge of the sea now, and walked into the surf slowly, letting the cool seawater numb its wounds. It was no longer needed, Mankind had proven itself by fighting alongside the massive protector, they could defend themselves now. At long last, it could finally rest for good, whether it be at the bottom of the sea or in death. With one last triumphant cry, Gamera, Guardian of the Universe, sank beneath the waves and to the cold seafloor below. Its brilliantly-colored eyes closed, ready to embrace the peace it had sought for so long...

* * *

><p>...and opened them again.<p>

It was somewhere else now. No longer did it find itself in the chilly stillness of the ocean floor, but in a grassy field. The sun shone warmly on its scaly face, and it had to squint in order to compensate for the sudden change in brightness. It was, to say at the very least, confused. _Am I dead?_ the Guardian asked itself. It inhaled deeply through its nostrils, taking in the air. It tasted sweet, it could detect no pollution in it. Rising slowly, it stood to its full height and looked around. The grassy field extended for as far as the eye could see, broken only by the occasional tree. The sky was a gorgeous blue, populated by puffy white clouds that promised good weather for some time. The Guardian looked down and found that it was fully healed of its horrific wounds, even its missing arm had returned. Was it truly dead? Could it be in some afterlife of sorts?

A scent gave it an answer. It was smoke, Gamera could faintly tell. A feeling in its gut told it that the smoke wasn't being caused by something natural. Straining its eyes, it found that smoke was rising in the distance, and now it could hear the sound of cannon fire. It was definitely not the afterlife, the Guardian decided. It was still on Earth. Gamera now knew why it was awake once more. The world needed it once more, its very essence crying to the Guardian for help against whatever was happening.

And there would an answer. Smoke erupted forth from Gamera's legs, and the Guardian of the Universe rose into the sky on pillars of flame, racing towards the battle in the distance, ready once more for to fight for the world. It would find that its appearance was most timely.


	2. Chapter 2: Trost

_Trost_

Mikasa Ackermann swung through the streets of the town, slashing at the necks of any Titans that got in her way. Behind her, the other cadets followed, having been inspired to get to the HQ and resupply their rapidly depleting gas. Things were not looking good for them as a whole. The Titans were everywhere, snatching hapless cadets and devouring them left and right, their faces always maintaining that eerie passivity. Through it all, Mikasa raced forward like a human bullet, unflinching in her quest to reach HQ.

"How is she going so fast?" Armin asked, swinging alongside Connie.

"She's using up too much gas, that's what!" the shaved-headed boy replied angrily. "What's she trying to do? Get eaten?!"

"I don't know!" Armin replied. He clutched his lucky stone in his hand tightly. He had found the strange-looking rock long before the Fall of Wall Maria, and always told himself it was a bringer of luck. He didn't know why he did it, considering all of the terrible things that had happened to him in such a short time. _Like what happened to Eren, _he thought to himself before he shook it out of his head. Now was not the time to grieve, he would have to survive the Titans first.

Had he bothered to look at the rock in his hand, he would have noticed that it was beginning to glow.

A shadow suddenly fell over the cadets, casting them in darkness. Before they could react, something _big _dropped out of the sky and smashed into the ground with tremendous force, flattening several buildings and Titans in the process. The site of impact was obscured in dust, hiding what had hit the ground from the naked eye. Armin and Connie managed to make it to a nearby rooftop and stared in surprise at the rising cloud of smoke. The surrounding Titans paid no attention to it, and continued on their hunt for human flesh.

"What the hell just happened!" Connie exclaimed, scared out of his wits by the sudden event. He then looked down at Armin's hand, his eyes widening in shock. "What the hell is that?!" he asked, pointing at Armin's hand.

Armin looked down at his hand. To his surprise, the stone was shining brilliantly now, yet he could feel no heat coming from it. _What's going on? _he asked himself. _Have I gone mad?_

While all of this was going on, Connie's prediction about Mikasa's gas supply rang true. With a sputter, her 3D Maneuvering Gear ran out, and the young cadet went tumbling through the sky. She managed to hook onto a nearby tower and clung to the wall, staring out at the smoke rising nearby. A Leaper took notice of her and lunged upwards, its jaws wide open. Mikasa dodged the attack, but in the process was flung off of the tower and flew through the air in a parabola, her path taking her near the impact site.

_Why am I fighting to stay alive? I have nothing left in this world, this cruel and beautiful world, _she thought to herself. Her gaze turned to the ground, which was getting closer with each passing moment. _Either way, it's over, _she told herself.

Suddenly, a large hand came out of the smoke and caught her, rolling with the impact as to ensure that she wouldn't die from the sudden change in speed. At first, she thought it was simply a Titan that had managed to snag itself a meal, but as more of the smoke cleared, she realized that it was something far different. Mikasa's memory raced back to a book that Armin had found that detailed different types of life outside of the walls. She remembered a particularly interesting creature called a turtle, which had a great plate of bone on its back and a scaly skin.

She never knew that turtles could get so _big._

The turtle looked curiously at Mikasa with large emerald eyes, only to snap its head towards a loud noise to the side. The Leaper had jumped away from the tower and was now flying towards her, teeth bared. To her surprise, the turtle made a fist with its other hand and swung forward with alarming speed, completely pulping the upper body of the Leaper in the process. The remaining half of the Leaper slammed into the ground, a spiderweb of cracks appearing around it. The turtle opened its jaws and released a thunderous wail in victory, and then raised Mikasa in its hand. Mikasa closed her eyes, fully expecting to be eaten...

...only to find herself gently placed on a nearby rooftop. She blinked in surprise, then rose to her feet, dusting herself off. The turtle spared her one more glance, then turned its attention to the Titans swarming the streets. The ground shook with each ponderous footstep it took, and it wailed once more, the sound echoing across the city.

Mikasa berated herself angrily for giving up like that, and replaced her dulled blades with mechanical precision. _I know realize why I still fought. I must live for you, Eren._

And to do that, she would have to fight.

* * *

><p>Gamera glared at the giants running amok through the streets. Titans, that's what the link told him they were called. The Guardian could feel the memories and emotions flowing through the link, it was what gave him strength during the struggles of centuries past. He watched through human eyes as people were forced to abandon their homes and dying loved ones, looking on in horror and fear as those too unfortunate to escape were devoured by the Titans. He could feel the fear the human felt during this time, and his own heart filled with a terrible rage. These Titans were nothing more than Gyaos in a different skin, mindlessly preying on mankind and driving them into an endangered species kept penned up in walls. But even the Gyaos did it to survive, these Titans did it solely out of bloodlust.<p>

He gritted his teeth at the thought of it. The Titans payed him no heed, focusing more on the humans moving about on wires, which the link told him were soldiers. That would change soon. Wailing, he rushed forward, smashing smaller Titans under his feet. A 15-meter one turned its disproportionate head just in time to receive an uppercut that liquefied its body. The link told him that destroying the nape of the neck was the surefire way to kill them, so he focused his blows there. It was of little difficulty, his blows often destroyed the Titans outright, removing the need for precision. It was for the best, grace was not his forte. Steaming blood spattered the streets and buildings as he tore through the Titans, smashing them into paste with his massive fists. The sheer force of his blows shattered nearby windows and nearly deafened any cadets close by.

The Titans were noticing him now, and began to converge on his position. It was no matter to him, they were like lambs to the slaughter. Bone blades extended themselves out of his wrists, and with great flourish he began to slice them apart. Dozens of steaming corpses were surrounding him now, and he showed no sign of slowing. The Guardian of the Universe wailed again, a challenge for all Titans to hear and tremble at.

He had stopped the implacable Legion at the final defense line in Tokyo. He had defeated the Shadow of Evil and purged the world of their vile presence when they were at their strongest. He had slain the Dark Guardian Iris when the might of man had failed.

He would not fail mankind here.

* * *

><p>Armin and the others continued to watch in silent shock as the giant creature plowed its way through a veritable swarm of Titans like it was nothing. The stone continued to glow brightly, and for some reason Armin felt... safe. He was in a battlefield where giant man-eating giants roamed, and yet he felt as though he were lying in bed, with nothing in the world to threaten him. After years of living in fear of the Titans, it was a welcome sensation.<p>

His reverie was broken when Mikasa reached his side, panting. She had managed to reach them by jumping from rooftop to rooftop, which was not an easy endeavor. "Armin, do you know what that is?" she asked in her usual deadpan.

A name popped into his head out of nowhere. "Gamera," he said.

"What kind of stupid name is that?" Connie asked.

Before Armin could answer, a roar sounded out nearby. As one they turned their heads, and found themselves looking at a sight just as strange as the one they were watching before.

It was a Titan... fighting other Titans. Its appearance was quite different from the others, it had a lean and muscular body and glowing green eyes. The group watched in awe as it roundhouse kicked an 8-meter Titan in the head, knocking it clean off and sending it smashing into a building. It then took a fighting stance and roared at the other Titans, steam rising from its healing leg. The other Titans charged at it, but were dispatched in a violent flurry of punches and kicks that frequently smashed the Rogue Titan's own limbs in the process. The Rogue Titan didn't seem to care about its injuries, it continued to smash the Titans, even if it was doing so with stumps. Its eyes flared with primal fury all the while, something that made even Mikasa uneasy.

It was then that an idea struck Armin. "The Titans are distracted by those two! We might be able to get to HQ without much trouble."

"Best idea I've heard all day," Connie replied. "Problem is, how will Mikasa get there?"

Armin knelt down and began to remove his gas cylinders, attaching them to Mikasa's via nozzles. "I can give Mikasa my gas, she is more useful than I am," he replied.

"I'm not leaving you behind, Armin," Mikasa said tersely. With surprising strength she took Armin into one of her arms and activated her now-refueled Gear. "Let's go."

And so Armin and the others swung through the air once more, his stone shining through the cloth of his pocket. All the while, the wails of the massive turtle and the roars of the Rogue Titan echoed across the city as more Titans advanced on their position.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it's a bit short.**

**In case you're wondering, Gamera is 40 meters tall in this one. I felt it was good compromise between the size of the Titans and his original size.**


End file.
